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Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation allowing autonomous vehicles to drive on Florida roadways on Thursday.

In signing the legislation, the Governor said it will make Florida the most friendly state in the nation when it comes to driverless cars.

While there are some driverless vehicles, most are still in testing mode.

Sponsor State Senator Jeff Brandes of St. Petersburg said he believes they will be commonplace by 2025.

“Well if you go to the villages, voyages in the villages, you got companies called Starsky Robotics that’s operating trucks in Plantation Florida. You got Ford and Argo AI down in Miami, so you’re starting to see more and more of this discussion,” said Brandes. “I think over the next few years up until 2025 you’ll see more and more of this discussion shifting into automation. And people are seeing more and more automation in their cars today. You already have adaptive cruise control, you already have lane assist. Those will only get more robust over time and so people will begin to see us moving up the levels of automation and that to me is really exciting and Florida is really on the leading edge of this.”

The legislation was signed in Polk County at the grand opening of SunTrax, the country’s newest autonomous vehicle test track.

On the third anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting a coalition of religious groups, LGBTQ activists and gun control supporters held a vigil at the State Capitol.

Many of the 49 who were killed in the shooting were members of the LGBTQ community.

Activist highlighted the ongoing need for more protections for LGBTQ individuals, especially since the group is a common target for hate crimes.

In 2018 there were 26 transgender people murdered in the United States, five of those cases were in Florida.

Gina Duncan Director of Transgender Equality at Transaction Florida said in the years since Pulse, the transgender community has suffered a number of defeats at the federal level, from military service, to healthcare protections.

“We honor the 49 with action. Together let us commit that we will not go back, we will not retreat into the closet and we will not live in the shadows. We commit that we will fight. We will fight with every breath in our bodies for the right to choose, for the right to exist without fear of violence,” said Duncan.

Since the start of 2019 there have been at least six documented murders of transgender people in the US.

Three years ago Wednesday, a man who pledged himself to the Islamic State took the lives of 49 people at the Pulse Night Club in Orlando using an assault style rifle.

As members of the LGBT community mourned those lost, a citizen initiative aimed at banning assault weapons in the state crossed a major hurdle.

First hand accounts from survivors of mass shootings in a new ad are part of a campaign to ban assault weapons in the state, called Ban Assault Weapons NOW.

“Everyone around me was either dead or shot,” one survivor of the Parkland shooting recalled in the ad.

Just days before the third anniversary of the Pulse Night Club Shooting, the campaign announced it had collected 100,000 signatures for an initiative that would put the question of banning assault weapons before voters in 2020.

The proposed constitutional amendment will now be revised by the Florida Supreme Court.

“They have no place whatsoever in civilian hands,” said League of Women Voters of Florida President Patricia Brigham.

Brigham was in Orlando for the anniversary of the shooting.

“The best way to never forget is to honor those who were lost by getting these weapons of war off the streets,” said Brigham.

Beth DuMond with Mom’s Demand Action Against Gun Violence said the citizen initiative is the result of a Legislature that has repeatedly refused to consider a ban.

“If they’re not going to be heard by their legislators they’re going to have to go around them,” said DuMond.

New restrictions on how petition gathers can be paid will likely make it more difficult for Ban Assault Weapons NOW to collect the remaining signatures needed to make it on the 2020 ballot.

Lakey Love, an LGBTQ activist, said the restrictions won’t deter those pushing for the initiative.

“The Executive level leadership and the political arena is really pushing us to that place where the people just have to stand up and fight back,” said Love.

However, with more than 600,000 signatures needed and less than a year remaining to collect them, it’s guaranteed to be an uphill battle.

A vigil was held at the State Capitol Wednesday evening in remembrance of the 49 who lost their lives at Pulse.

For many the shooting was the spark that triggered the outcry for a ban on assault weapons.

The state’s first ever Chief Science Officer Dr. Thomas Frazier convened the state’s first ever Blue Green Algae Task Force Wednesday.

The panel is on a mission to solve a problem decades in the making.

The Blue Green Algae Task Force has a charge to examine state regulations and not be afraid to challenge the status quo.

“The goal is simply to ask what can we do to achieve more now, and how do we get better,” said Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Noah Valenstein.

The task force is made up of five PHD scientist, all distinguished in their field.

Presentations were heavy on jargon.

Dr. Michael Parsons of Gulf Coast University said solving the problem may come down to more monitoring and more boots on the ground.

“I think its more or looking at what’s in place and doing a better job of monitoring and making sure there is compliance. And make sure we can help people get into compliance is that’s not the case,” said Parsons.

More money will help.

The Governor asked for $2.4 billion over four years to protect Florida’s environment.

In the 2019 budget he got more than a quarter of it.

While reviewing a map of septic tanks in Lee County, state officials noted their potential threat.

“They can provide, or can propose a problem, and a significant problem to water bodies,” said DEP Deputy Secretary for Water Restoration Tom Frick.

The new Chief Science officer seemed surprised when he was told the agency doesn’t regulate septic tanks.

“And we have to be able to figure out how to convert septic tanks in some cases to waste water treatment systems,” said Frazier.

But Frazier made a promise to make a difference.

“What we come up with here is not going to sit on a shelf,” said Frazier.

The Florida Audubon Society expressed optimism the task force would find a way to insert scientific solutions into solving what they called a crisis of well know cases when it comes to blue green algae.

The future of charter schools is on the line in a case heard by the First District Court of Appeal Tuesday morning.

The 2017 legislation allows charter schools to set up in counties with failing schools without local input.

Traditional public school advocates started fighting against the omnibus education package almost immediately after it passed.

Initially, 13 school boards filed suit, but in 2018 Circuit Judge John Cooper ruled against the school boards, leading to three districts withdrawing.

The remaining 10 districts argued their case before the First District Court of Appeal.

Collier County, which filed a separate appeal, also made its case before the panel of judges.

The districts alleged the law is unconstitutional, because it requires districts to share property tax revenue with charter schools.

“They don’t have the money to build that new gym or that air conditioning system because the money is being directed elsewhere,” said Steve Brannock, an attorney representing the school boards.

But the state said the amount of money in dispute is insignificant.

“They would have to spend a very small portion, less than one percent, on their charter schools,” said Testani,an attorney representing the state.

In addition to money, the school boards said the law dilutes their authority by allowing charters, known as “schools of hope”, to open in chronically low performing areas without local approval.

“The statue clearly allows the schools of hope to apply directly to the state and bypass the school board,” said Brannock.

The state argued it has the right to intervene when a school district has consistently failed.

“The state surely is able to step in when school districts are not getting the job done,” said Testani.

The decision in this case could impact other cases challenging similar charter school expansions that were passed in 2018 and 2019.

“It’ll all depend on how the court comes out and what it says where the line is but it’ll certainly be important in looking at 7055 and any other future omnibus education bill and stopping this incremental creep of moving powers from the local officials to the state,” said Brannock.

A decision from the appellate court isn’t expected for months.

Regardless of the outcome, the State Supreme Court will likely have the final say.

Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation Tuesday morning that could eventually lead to cheaper prescription medications, but don’t count on any savings just yet.

A statement from The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, said in part, “Today is a sad day for Floridians. Make no mistake…bad actors around the world are undoubtedly already busy plotting ways to get dangerous counterfeit medicines into the state of Florida.”

With the stroke of his pen, DeSantis likely dealt a blow to the profit margins of big drug companies.

“You have the same exact drug here and in Canada, and its half the price in Canada, you should be able to buy it there,” said DeSantis.

Big Pharma threw what they had at this legislation in an attempt to stop it and still they failed.

“They spent $6.3 million on television ads in Florida in two weeks,” said Dave Bruns with AARP.

Senate Sponsor Aaron Bean still got a 27-13 vote, by arguing the US pays 30 to 190 percent more for drugs than other countries.

“Don’t tell me there won’t be savings because I got the file to show you,” said Bean.

AARP held a town hall meeting and pushed seniors to call lawmakers.

Now it’s celebrating a victory it never expected.

“This was in a lot of ways, a long shot. The Pharmacutical drug manufacturers had won every fight like this they had ever undertaken, in every other state but one,” said Bruns.

Federal approval is required before any drugs can cross the border.

Initially, only the state will be able to bring low cost drugs for inmates and other state facilities, but a second prong of the bill allows does pharmacies to apply for a waiver so they can import cheaper drugs as well.

While the Federal Government has never given a state a waiver to import foreign drugs in 16 years, the Governor has spoken personally to the President about the approval, and it is expected late this year.

Florida utility regulators voted to allow Duke Energy keep its $223.5 million tax savings that the company saw as a result of last years Federal tax package Tuesday.

The money will be used to offset Hurricane Michael costs incurred by the company said Deputy Public Counsel Charles Rehwinkel.

“This is a good opportunity to use the tax savings to pay for a catastrophic event. It’s very important that customers recognize that the company has a legal right to recover the storm costs,” said Rehwinkel.

While on the hook for storm costs, ratepayers were also entitled to share in the tax savings.

Other utility companies, such as Florida Power and Light have opted for the same settlement.

Two proposed constitutional amendments, have collected enough signatures to be reviewed by the State Supreme Court.

One would ban assault weapons, the other would let you choose where you buy your electricity.

But a new law signed by the Governor could make it harder for those and other amendments to make it on the ballot.

Medical marijuana, Florida Forever, automatic restoration of voting rights for felons are just a few major initiatives put in the state constitution through citizens initiatives.

“The people of Florida use the initiative process to get what they want done when the Florida Legislature is standing in their way,” said Scott McCoy with Southern Poverty Law Center.

The new law creates restrictions for campaigns that pay petition gatherers.

All paid petition gatherers must now register with the state and it’s now illegal to pay petition gatherers by the signature.

“It seems that the Legislature, and the Governor for that matter, really don’t like it when the voters tell them what to do,” said Jonathan Webber with the Florida Conservation Voters.

Webber worked on the Florida Forever campaign.

“There’s no question that [if] HB 5 were in law when we were doing our amendment, [it] would have been next to impossible, or extremely extremely difficult to get this on the ballot,” said Webber.

When asked about the legislation in May, Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters he wasn’t confident the new restrictions went far enough.

“We’ve let too much policy go into the constitution,” said DeSantis. “If you want to do policy through an initiative it should be a statutory initiative.”

However, Florida law doesn’t allow that.

Supervisors of Elections also have a number of questions about the new law.

It requires supervisors to print, distribute and track petitions.

“The main concern is how we’re going to get these petitions developed, how we’re going to have them numbered, how we’re going to keep track of that process and the cost associated with it,” said Ron Labasky with the Florida State Association of Supervisor of Elections.

Petitions gathered before the new law officially takes effect on July 7th will be exempt from the new requirements, but it will still affect initiatives for the 2020 election.

Some of the ongoing campaigns include open primaries, a $15 minimum wage and legalizing recreational marijuana.

Attorneys representing former Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel have asked for a delay in his suspension hearing.

Israel was removed from office by Governor Ron DeSantis, who accused the sheriff of negligence and incompetence in his response to the Parkland shooting.

Israel’s attorneys have requested the final hearing be delayed, so they can obtain documents related to the arrest of former Marjory Stoneman Douglas SRO Scot Peterson.

The Governor’s attorney Nicholas Primrose objected to the request, arguing no new information would come to light.

“To say that in anyway the Scot Peterson arrest should impact this final hearing and the Senate’s vote on whether to remove Scott Israel I don’t think should be granted,” said Primrose.

The decision to delay will be made sometime this week, but for now the final hearing is still scheduled to start next Tuesday.

Farmers in the panhandle were devastated by Hurricane Michael and have been undercut by cheaper Mexican crops.

A coalition of Florida lawmakers and state officials met with the head of the US Department of Agriculture Friday morning, to talk about what can be done to help.

The meeting came just one day after the $19.1 billion dollar disaster-relief package signed into law by the President.

The news came as a relief to many in the Florida panhandle, farmers in particular, who suffered an estimated $1.5 billion loss of crops in Hurricane Michael.

US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue met with a panel of Florida officials to hear what needs are still unmet.

“We want to help people survive, to farm and go another day,” said US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.

The disaster-relief package included $4.5 billion specifically to help with agricultural losses.

Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, Jared Moskwitz said there is now a sense of urgency to get boots on the ground.

“Cause this is a piece that is literally gonna put money into people’s hands that have been dramatically affected and whose lives have been up-ended by Hurricane Michael,” said Moskowitz.

Perdue said help will be coming quickly.

“If you know the speed of the Federal Government I can assure you we’ll beat that by multiples. We expect this to be weeks not months,” said Perdue.

Florida farmers have also been facing stiff competition from cheaper Mexican crops.

Concerns have been raised that there are not enough protections for farmers in the proposed US Mexican Canada Trade Agreement.

The lack of seasonal protections in the agreement was disappointing to Purdue, but he notes even in the old NAFA agreement, no such protections existed.

“We were not able and successful in getting in there, but we didn’t go backwards,” said Perdue.

Still, the secretary said he’s working with the US Department of Commerce to find solutions to prevent some of the unfair trade practices used by Mexican farmers to undercut US farmers.

The Florida Commission of Ethics approved a deal struck in the case against former Democrat Gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum with a five to two vote.

Four of five charges were dropped.Probable cause was found that Gillum accepted a boat ride from an FBI agent on a trip to New York City that may have violated a one hundred dollar limit on gifts.

Gillum will pay a $5,000 fine.

Interest in growing hemp in the state is high following legislation legalizing the plant.

Floridians will get a say in the future of the hemp industry through participation in a series of workshops scheduled in June.

Hemp is expected to be a multi-billion dollar industry in Florida.

The Governor is expected to sign this year’s hemp bill into law.

When he does, Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried will be tasked with filling in the blanks in the legislation.

“Having a licensing structure for growing, and the manufacturing side and different requirements. What are we actually going to ask for the testing standards to look like,” said Fried.

The Department of Agriculture’s Cannabis Director Holly Bell said she’s been fielding questions on a daily basis from people eager to break into the industry.

“They want to know how soon they can get a permit to grow, what it’s gonna cost, how they need to qualify, will there be a limited number of permits,” said Bell.

However, until the department completes its rule making process, many of those questions can’t be answered just yet.

The Commissioner and Cannabis Director will tour the state in late June, asking the public what they want Florida’s hemp industry to look like.

There will be three opportunities for public comment, June 20th near Miami, June 21st in Tampa and June 24th in Tallahassee.

“We’re making history here, and we want to make sure the citizens of our state are right there by our side, giving input, suggestions, ideas of things to cover in the rules,” said Fried.

Fried said the goal is to get rules in place as quickly as possible, in hopes of getting the first crops in the ground by 2020.

“This is why we’re having as open of a transparent conversation now. So we hear everybody’s opinions, we get everybody’s advice and suggestions so that we have a smooth rule making process,” said Fried.

Fried said the Department has also been in close contact with other states that have already established hemp programs to help guide the rule making process.

An investigation is underway into a fire at a prominent Catholic Cathedral in the state’s capital city.

Multiple chairs in the church caught fire Wednesday afternoon and were quickly doused by firefighters.

The State Fire Marshal said the fire appears to have been intentionally started.

“I am saddened to hear of an apparently intentional fire set at the St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral in Tallahassee yesterday. My arson detectives responded immediately to assist local authorities in determining the cause. Arson is a costly and dangerous crime, and my arson detectives will continue to assist authorities in any way to bring those responsible to justice, said Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis.

Rector John Cayer of the Catholic Cathedral of St. Thomas More was quoted as suggesting the fire was likely caused by arson.

No injuries have been reported.

The Bureau of Fire and Arson Investigators, the Tallahassee Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are involved in the investigation.